Travel & Hotels

Hawassa city is located in the African Rift Valley, ca 230 km south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All international travel to Hawassa will naturally be through Addis Ababa, but no overnight stay in Addis Ababa is required.

Hawassa City is the capital of the Ethiopian Southern Province, it is a fast-growing fairly modern city, attracting young people from Ethiopia caused by excellent climate and a large university. The city appears as very safe for travellers.

International travel to/from Addis Ababa: International visitors must hold a Visa to visit Ethiopia - see http://www.evisa.gov.et — our experience is that for Europeans Visa on Arrival at Bole Airport (bring EUR 45 in cash) is convenient — some waiting time in the passport control must be expected.

Many international airlines have flights to Bole Airport, Addis Ababa and Ethiopian Airlines based at Bole Airport, a top-rated airliner, has a broad network of International destinations. International conference participants will typically arrive at Bole Airport very early in the morning. A minimum traveller to the conference could arrive Monday morning and depart on Friday evening.

There exists a tight network of flight/bus connections in Ethiopia.

Travel Addis Ababa to/from Hawassa: Flights Addis Ababa/Hawassa, by Ethiopian Airlines, operates twice a day- early morning, late afternoon. The flight hour is ca 40 minutes. A number of bus companies operate on Addis Ababa/Hawassa and the travel time is ca 4.5 hours. We will arrange/recommend travels from Addis Ababa on Monday, February 11. 2019 morning and from Hawassa on Friday, February 15. 2019 afternoon.

There exists a large variety of hotel in Hawassa, from top-rated international hotels to fairly simple local ones. The conference hall is at the science campus of Hawassa University located just outside town but local travel with bajaj taxis is fast, cheap and charming. The hotel options can be divided into two categories.

Top rated hotels: Most often self-contained resorts on international standard, usually outside the city centre.
We recommend Haile Resort — but other hotels are also available — see list below.

City centre hotels: All on acceptable international standard – located mostly along the Plaza Avenue, connecting the Cathedral and the lake, which is very lively during daylight and early evening.
We recommend Ker-Awud International Hotel — but other hotels are also available — see list below.

Here are some of the hotels.